Ages passed. Yao Gong ascended without issue, smoothly entering the Immortal Realm under Weiheng Wu’s rule. Hui watched closely, but as time progressed and Yao Gong settled in to the Immortal Realm, he settled in.

For ages and ages, he meditated quietly in the rear of the Underworld. Occasionally, the reapers came to him with conflicts, but for the most part, Hui kept to himself. Perhaps as a joke, Elder Sister Reaper carved a throne into the stone around him, adding to it whenever she noticed him too sunk in meditation to stop her. Hui sighed and put up with it, nonetheless a little disappointed at the way she refused to speak to him. Our relationship is already too different in this version of the world. There’s nothing I can do about it.

“No! I refuse! Let me speak to the Lord of the Dead. I refuse to accept this!”

A dry cough sounded. Hui reluctantly opened his eyes.

The Reaper stood before him, her head bowed. She stood and gestured behind her.

Arms crossed, a live man stood there, an indignant look on his face. “Return Hai Bingbing! It wasn’t her time to die. I refuse to accept this!”

“I heard you the first time, Elder Brother,” Hui said. He sat up, adjusting his stance a little. “Hai Bingbing?”

“She died in battle. Her soul is on the path toward reincarnation,” the red-haired man reported.

“Return her to me!” the man demanded again.

Hui rested his fingers on his forehead. This again? Is it so easy to access the Underworld? I should make it harder to reach. “And why should I do that, Elder Brother?”

“We’re in love. She died before her time. She doesn’t belong here!” he announced.

Hui sighed. He shook his head. “Elder Brother, the realm must remain stable. You understand that, right? If I simply void the proper order of things and give you your lover back, why shouldn’t I give everyone their lovers back? While I agree that it would be nice if no one had to die, the world requires souls to flow, and the laws of life and death must be followed, if this delicate realm is to continue functioning.”

The man drew his sword. “I don’t care about any of that. I only care about Hai Bingbing. Return her, or die here!”

“I refuse,” Hui said, crossing his arms.

Screaming, the man rushed at him. He sliced out with his sword.

Hui’s body fell in two. Blood gushed.

The man looked at Hui, then at his sword, then laughed. “It’s that easy? It’s that easy? Ha! How stupid! How dare he tell me I couldn’t retrieve Hai Bingbing?” He kicked Hui’s body out of the throne and sat down in it. Turning to the reapers, he looked down on them. “Now I’m the Lord of the Underworld. Quickly. Bring me Hai Bingbing!”

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The reapers sighed, as one.

“Weiheng Hui…”

“Sincerely, please stop this nonsense.”

Lying on the floor, Hui remained prone. I refuse! I didn’t ask for this job. I don’t want to be the manager idiots talk to when they think they can get their way. Throw him out yourselves! There’s no need to wake me—

Hui sat bolt upright. Almost as an afterthought, gold threads leapt from his severed body and tied the two pieces together. He gazed up at the mortal world. “That aura…” Bai Xue. Bai Xue was born!

The man startled. He raised his sword again. “I killed you!”

Hui flicked his hand, lifting the other to his chin. A strong expulsive force gripped the man and ejected him from the Underworld.

As he flew out, he shouted, “I’ll be back!”

The reapers looked at one another and shook their heads.

Lost in thought, Hui glanced over at the reapers. “If you see that man again, kill him. Actually, if any mortals enter the Underworld, expel them, and if that doesn’t work, kill them.”

“You’ll give us that much power?” the Reaper asked.

Hui waved his hand. “It’s fine. I’m going to be busy for a time.”

“Hmm. As you say.” The man with red hair saluted, and a moment later, so did the Reaper.

Ignoring them, Hui returned to his thoughts. I can’t easily interact with the mortal realm, even clones can’t, but as it is… as it is, there won’t be a ‘me’ to meet Bai Xue and Li Xiang. My children will never be born, and nothing that I took care of will be taken care of!

I can’t accept that. But what can I do about it?

He looked at his palm. Master and Ying Lin both qualify as forces of the world, and I could condense them into a being that’s capable of existing at realms where they can interact with ordinary cultivators. For me, the only reason I can’t, is because of the power of time I comprehended. I wonder…

He held his palm out. Channeling his own energy, he mixed in life qi and primordial energy. A him-like being began to take shape, not a clone or a lotus clone, but a human avatar for himself, with no cultivation, soul, or mind. Merely a child, the avatar sat emptily, nothing more than an empty body.

Ever so carefully, Hui carved out a tiny piece of his soul and mental energy, careful to avoid the parts of his mind and soul inundated with the power of time. Putting his hand to the avatar’s chest, he pushed his energy into it.

I could wait. Wait until the original time, and face the world as I did, living out everything again the same exact way. That would be the safest.

But… why wait? The tragedies Bai Xue experienced before she met me. Black Dragon’s failed ascension and death—if she succeeds, Zhubi can grow up as the Dragon-Turtle he was always meant to be. Li Xiang’s soul swap—though that probably doesn’t happen, without the Golden Immortal to influence it. Still—all those things that happened before I arrived. If I move now, I can prevent all of them. I can create an even better world for all of us.

Not a perfect world. Not an ideal world. I’ll probably fail, and miss several opportunities, and end up with a timeline just as messy and imperfect as the first.

But that’s fine. That is what it means to live. And that… is the gift I’m going to give myself.

The avatar stood. It bowed to Hui. Hui nodded and waved his hand, and it vanished, reappearing in the mortal world. Hui took a deep breath, then nodded to himself. Good luck, me. I’ll see you on the other side.

Thank you, me. I’ll do my best. In this imperfect world, let’s carve out just a little bit of joy for ourselves and our loved ones.

Yes. That… I think, that is what I’ve always wanted. Not to be Lord of the Underworld or Heavenly Emperor. Not to be a hero. No. All I’ve ever wanted… is a normal life.

And now, we can claim it.